Advocacy Goal Setting
When you’re an activist, one of the biggest barriers of advocacy is deciding what to do. Who do I support? How do I do that? When do I start? This post will answer all those questions.
Advocacy: The Who
I’m not talking about the band, but WHO you want to support. Ask yourself?
- What causes matter to you?
- What causes are important in the world right now? In your state? In your community?
- What skills do you have? Do they match a certain cause, or can they be helpful for a variety of causes?
I’ll answer these questions.
What causes matter to you?
Some of the causes that matter to me are rights for Palestinian refugees, transgender legislation, anti-racism, and disability rights and awareness.
What causes are important in the world right now? In your state? In your community?
In the world, the most prevalent issues are COVID-19 and climate change (in terms of urgency and biggest impact).
In my state of Maryland, key issues include marijuana legalization, COVID 19, and climate change (specifically Chesapeake Bay pollution).
In my community, a prominent issue is teenage suicide.
What skills do you have? Do they match a certain cause, or can they be helpful for a variety of causes?
I am a speech-language pathologist and have extensive background working with disabled people of all ages. I have knowledge of autism spectrum disorders and the best way to provide treatment to autistic individuals in a way that embraces and honors their neurodiversity, rather than suppresses it. This will specifically match advocating for disabled folks, but I have gained skills in advocating for my patients in a big way, which can be applied to a variety of causes. Through my blog, I have strong written language abilities, social media and digital product skills that I can apply to a variety of projects. I received training in transgender voice and provided voice therapy for a transgender woman.
With my answers in mind, it’s clear that I have a strong background in working with disabled people and transgender individuals, that many others may not have. This can narrow down the causes where I can really provide change.
Where to Look
Once you have your cause, where should you look?
1. Facebook: A great place to start is Facebook. Likely, most organizations have a Facebook page or group. Additionally, if you are already in social justice groups, or even groups within your field of work, opportunities may be shared there. Just today I learned of an organization addressing the problems in our healthcare system from a Facebook group I’m in called: IMPACT (Interdisciplinary Medical & Patient Alliance for Care Transformation) in Healthcare.
Some activism Facebook groups I belong to are: Upstate Injustice Distrupters | Teaching on Days After: Dialogue & Resources for Educating Toward Justice |
2. Your Community- Oftentimes, your friends will be like-minded and may already belong to a group you could join. Consider reaching out to them! Maybe even check and see if your peers follow any groups on social media that you are interested in.
3. Hashtags– On the social media vein, search phrases or hashtags that could bring up related organizations or pages to what you are interested in.
4. Known Organizations- Think of the organizations you already know- they will likely have existing projects you can contribute to.
5. Community Centers- Places like your local YMCAs, churches, small businesses, schools, scouts’ troops etc. may be looking for volunteers to get involved with their projects!
When to Start
As soon as you’ve found a cause you want to support, you should start right away! The sooner you take action the better. Even if you’re dedicating thirty minutes to an hour a week to your cause, this can make a big difference. If starting with a smaller amount of time gets you out there, you can always add more time later as you get more involved and if your schedule allows. I encourage you to take your first step today. That can look like:
- Emailing a contact at the organization
- Scheduling a meeting with the organization
- Coming up with a potential project you want to work on
- Researching the organization and what they’ve done in the past
- and so much more!
Wrapping Up
I hope this post helped to jump start your journey into activism! I am so proud of you- let me know what is the first step you are taking, and what organization you are working with!
